Twisted Ways
by ShadowPillow
Summary: He was only a shell of who he had been. An imposter, an abomination created by the sacrifice of a brother who was never his. Alphonse Elric had died for nothing, for all he had brought back to life was a homunculus. (Post-2003, pre-CoS. Very short chapters, intermittent updates.)
1. The Dead Can Not Be Brought Back to Life

A/N: Chapters are extremely short in this story, and updating is intermitent at best, since this is not my focus story. In any case, I hope you enjoy reading.

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

ThE DeAd CAn Not Be BrOUght Back To LifE

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**T**_w_i_s__**t**_**e**d **W****_a_**_y_**s**

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Brother was dead.

No – he couldn't be! Ed was – he wasn't – _no_ –

"Brother?" the word came unheeded, echoing through my hollow, metal body. He looked at me one last time, eyes wide, blood pouring from his stomach. Fell to the floor, limp body. No life.

Dead. Ed – dead. With dead eyes. Hauntingly dead eyes.

"Brother… No! You can't die!" He couldn't, couldn't. "It's supposed to be me!" He couldn't, he couldn't be dead.

"Brother can't die! It's ridiculous! He wouldn't let that happen! He couldn't!" He would never leave me like this. We were all that we had! He couldn't! It just wasn't possible.

Dante's cruel whispering words.

"That's reality for you." No. _No!_ "All the effort he gave got him nothing in return. You can pay all you want. It's never enough."

_Never enough…_

I had never hated anybody more than I did that moment. Her words, taunting an insidious – what purpose did they serve? To hurt me? Damage me beyong repair? Make me her meak little _toy_, simply a key to fulfill her greatest wishes?

No. I wouldn't give up now. Not when there was still a chance –

I stood up, the stone activating inside me. Dante was telling me to stop, but I didn't. Couldn't. I would do anything for Brother.

"You can't make me do anything!" I snarled at her, rage bursted from the implacid mask that had been forced upon me by our sins. I had to get to him. My brother who had always taken care of me.

"Brother hasn't been dead for long." A desperate hope, a wild hope. _It had to work._ Ed couldn't die. "Look, there's still some color in his cheeks! His soul is probably still at the Gate. I just have to pull it back – the same way he did for me." It would work. It had to.

"Don't be a fool. You know what would happen to you –"

"Yeah, I do." And I did. It would be an end to my existence, the life Brother had given to me. "A lot of people died to make this stone, and I would've died too, if not for them. And it's time I gave my own share, and made my own choice."

"Alphonse…" Rose's whispering voice. She had been through so much because of us… I pushed the thought away.

"Goodbye, Rose." I clapped my hands together – "This is for you, Brother."

– and completed the transmutation.

"I'll miss you…"

And then it was all over.

-Death-

The true tragedy of this tale is not Alphonse's sacrifice. It was that it was all for nothing.

For the thing that he had created was not his Brother. It was only a monster with the body of the boy known as the Fullmetal Alchemist. A mockery of the true spirit and lively fire that was Edward Elric.

On that day, Alphonse had created a homunculus.


	2. There is Never An End to It

A/N: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Or Dante.

TheRe iS NEver aN END to I_t_

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**T**_w_i_s__**t**_**e**d **W****_a_**_y_**s**

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Alphonse had wasted the stone to make this... _thing_.

It was a shame. We'd have to start all over again, finding new homunculi and another alchemist to do our dirty work.

Or maybe this one would still do?

I crouched down next to the body. A homunculus created with the entire body still intact... Interesting. Wrath had been able to perform alchemy with _his_ arm and leg, so the boy should still be able to do it.

I smiled. Maybe things weren't as bad as I had thought. The body stirred, and my smile grew even more wicked.

"What? Who –" it mumbled.

"Shh... Do you remember anything?" It was how I began all my homunculi. With the desire to become human.

"Flashes... just glimpses," it murmured, voice drowsy as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep. Dante supposed it just had. "Al? Who is he?" But then the girl named Rose approached, interrupted me.

"Edward? You don't remember Al? He was –"

"Your own brother!" Now Wrath, too, was interfering. Wasn't the Gate supposed to have taken him away? "He gave up his life for you..." The last words were whispered, spoken in almost awe. But I couldn't let this continue. If these two fools kept on telling it about its past, who knows what might happen. My entire plan would be ruined.

"But he's not Edward Elric anymore." This was important, something the homunculus itself had to hear. "He is now _Pride_." A fitting name for its sin. During his lifetime, Edward Elric had had plenty of that. It was what had lead to his demise, after all.

Suddenly, there was a huge crash ahead, ponderous footsteps making their way toward us. I felt a flicker of annoyance as I looked up. Gluttony now too? Everybody seemed intent on interfering today.

"Gluttony," I snapped. "Stop it." But the monstrosity kept on walking towards us, his tongue lolling and mouth salivating.

What was he doing? Then I realized, and my eyes widened. I had removed his mind, and now all he had left was the desire to eat. Of course. How had I been so stupid?

"Wrath," I commanded, backing away slowly, my eyes watching the monster. It had been a pity that Envy disappeared through the Gate. Now I only had this _child_ left. "Take the boy and let's go."

"I'm not listening to _you_ anymore," he sneered. But he couldn't have moved anyway, not while missing an arm and a leg. I shook my head, and moved towards Pride. I'd just have to carry it myself –

Rose ran in front of me, one arm spread wide, her baby in the other.

"No! I won't let you take Ed!" I snarled at her stupidity. The beast was coming closer.

"Foolish girl. Can't you see Gluttony? If we stay here, we're dead!" Already we were taking too much time. I pushed past the girl and picked up the homunculus myself. Heavy, for one so small.

"I can..." the creature's mumbles faded, and now I dashed out of the ballroom to outside, in the underground city. Even with my hundred years of experience, I couldn't help the flicker of fear that the monstrosity would follow me – the moment I had escaped I sealed the doorway with alchemy.

Somehow, those two fools had made it alongside me, Wrath using Rose as a crutch. I hissed, displeased by their presence.

"Go away. I have no need for you two any longer." A foolish girl, and a cripple. The former could have been used as a new body, but now, that could awaken too many memories for the new homunculus. Too risky.

"No!" The girl was stubborn. "I won't let you take Ed!"

But then Gluttony crashed through the wall I had created over the doorway, and all reason fled.

No matter what, I could not be eaten, to share the same fate as all those _humans_ who had been fed to Gluttony. No, I had been the one who had achieved immortality, and this demented creation of mine would not stop me now.

Nevertheless, I had fled, leaving the homunculi and one girl behind.


	3. We're Not Alive, Rose

A/N: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

We'RE NOt AlIVe, Rose

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**T**_w_i_s__**t**_**e**d **W****_a_**_y_**s**

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Rose didn't know what to do with Edward.

He wasn't human – that much was clear by now. Just ten minutes ago, he had saved both of them from Gluttony, even being _bitten_ at one point, but the flesh had just sown itself back together. Somehow she had convinced them to run away into a small house nearby, but the sight had disturbed her.

Ed wasn't human. Or was he even Ed at all anymore?

-**_W_**r_a_**_t_h**-

Rose was panicking, I knew. She kept on glancing suspiciously at Ed – no, _Pride –_ and then back at the door, as if expecting Gluttony to suddenly barge in.

And then there was the new homunculus himself.

He kept on glancing around from his position on the floor, wide-eyed and scared. Like a broken track record, he kept on asking who he was, _what_ he was, why we were looking at him like that... and about the Gate.

_Gate. place of damnation. living hell._ The remembrance brought pathetic shudders to my body, and I quaked before the mere memory of it.

Now this man who had _murdered_ my mother... he now knew the terror of it too. Not like the traipsing alchemist trying to bring _Mommy back to life_, but as a homunculus.

_i want to be human. like he was._

But no. This wasn't _Edward Elric_ anymore. This pitiful creature wasn't the one who had killed her. _He_ was dead, and now there was only this shallow shell –

A baby's wail.

No – no! The Gate! It was –!

Not here. I glared at Rose.

"Will you shut that thing up?" Now she set her frightened eyes on me, and I snarled. The baby wailed again. "Shut up!" But she was already taking care of the demented thing, making soothing noises and rocking it side to side. I growled.

"Just keep that thing away from me." Instead of nodding obediently though, as she had done so many times at the mansion, the woman's eyes flared with anger.

"_Thing_? This is my baby! If you can't stand her crying, then leave!" Now, I glanced down, down at the stump where a leg had once been. _leave? ha. if only I could._

"I can't," I said shortly, and wished I had regenerative abilities like Greed, and apparently the new Pride. But I doubted it would have helped. The Gate had taken those limbs away from me, and even _his_ automail didn't seem to be sprouting new limbs.

"I'm sorry." I looked back up in surprise at the woman.

"Sorry for what? Forgetting I'm a cripple?" I laughed, and suddenly the hysteria was too much. Strangled sobs choked my throat, and yet, the laughter still bubbled up to the surface. The woman, strangely enough, came to me, patting me on the back reassuringly. I shrugged her off.

"I'm sorry..." she said again, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry for everything. You lost your mother, didn't you?" I opened my mouth for an angry retort. I didn't need _pointless reassurance_ –

Pride stirred. We started, still on edge, and Rose nervously glanced out the window again.

"Mother..." he whispered eerily, and I took the opportunity to change the subject.

"He'll probably need red stones," I said casually. I felt the urge, the ferality rise within me with the simple mention of the stones. _hunger. i need food. crave it._

"What?"

"It's a homunculus thing. You don't think he could go without any energy after fighting Gluttony, did you? That healing trick he did probably sapped him out of whatever he had from being created." I stared at the shaking body as I spoke. He was so _pitiful_ like this...

"Red stones? What are they?" Then I was staring at her with shock.

_she doesn't know?_

Of course not. Dante never would've told someone like _her_ such a dirty secret.

"They're... They're like the Philosopher's Stone." Obviously, she knew about _that_, judging by her startled gasp. "Made out of human lives. Like an energy source for us homunculi. We can go for a while without needing any, but like I said..." I gestured to the body. "He's not in a very good shape. Right now, he could die as easily as you."

"You can't die?" she asked, sounding dazed. I grinned, showing all my pointy teeth.

"Of course I can. It's just very, very hard to kill me." But then the thought of Gluttony prowling the streets, tracking us down, made me shudder. "That _monster_ probably could though." How long would it be before he found us, hiding in this house so close to the ballroom?

"I guess it doesn't matter anyway. We're going to die soon." There was no reason to wondering about some far-off future anymore.

"Don't say that!" Rose exclaimed, and I smiled weakly at her. She really was an optimist, wasn't she?

"You could still escape," I offered. "You and your baby." Pride couldn't move, and neither could I. She was better off without us. Rose, however, looked horrified at the suggestion.

"And leave you two?" I laughed again, a harsh and bitter sound.

"It's not much of a life, is it? We're not even real people anyway. We're homunculi, Rose. Just go and save yourself."

"But..." She glanced at Pride.

_ah, so this is about him. him, him, him. stupid edward elric._

"He's not really Ed, you know." They were words she needed to hear, to finally face reality instead of the illusion she seemed to be clinging to. "I should know. I'm a homunculus too, remember?"

"But..." Now her voice was weak, so I only pressed on, to drive to point home. _stop being so _weak_. stupid human. don't you understand?_

"He's never coming back. _Edward Elric is dead. _They're both dead. So stop dreaming and go!" I shouted.

And she went, tears falling down her face.

Only two homunculi left. Two cripples who were slated for death.

_how fitting._


	4. Everything Was Going to be Alright

A/N: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. This chapter jumps around quite a bit.

EvERythIng WaS GoiNg to Be ALriGHt

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**T**_w_i_s__**t**_**e**d **W****_a_**_y_**s**

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The black-haired boy sitting against the wall was talking to me.

"We're the only two left now, huh. Just you and me, Pride."

Pride? Was that me?

I tried to ask, but no sound came out.

Too weak. I needed…

Something.

-_**W**_r_a**t**_**h**-

I had decided to spent the rest of my miserable life rambling to a half-dead homunculus.

_there wasn't anything else to do, after all._

"You know, all I ever wanted was to be with Mommy…"

-_Rose_-

Rose ran as fast as she could.

Maybe… _maybe_, if she could get to Central Headquarters and tell them where Ed and Wrath were, she could save them. Then she wouldn't have to deal with this guilt.

Somehow, she managed to run faster.

-Riza Hawkeye-

_I have to get back to Roy. Something must have gone wrong –_

She, too, was running. And when Riza Hawkeye found Roy collapsed on the Fuhrer's doorstep with Selim Bradley's dead body in his arms, she could only assume the worst.

"General! General!" He didn't reply. There was a pool of blood around him… "Damn it! Roy Mustang! Talk to me!"

And then the body stirred.

He was alive. Thank god, he was alive…

Everything was going to be alright.

-_Rose_-

She arrived at Headquarters, but no one would listen to her. They were all running around, some even crying, saying that the Fuhrer was dead, the Fuhrer was dead…

And nobody cared about Edward.

Rose fell to her knees, baby still cradled in her arms.

She had run away.

-**Pride**-

…

There were noises, coming closer. The boy had heard them too, because he had stiffened. But he didn't do anything. He couldn't, I knew, because he only had one leg.

… Why did that bother me? There were flashes, glimpses… None of it made any sense. Hydrogen. Deconstruction.

A suit of armor. The Gate.

What did it mean?

The door opened, like an answer to my prayers.


	5. Once Upon a Time

A/N: Hey, its been a really long time! Luckily, GamerGrl3's review inspired to come back to this story and keep on working on it. My writing style's changed since then, and I'd like to think gotten better (wow, its been a year), so I'll probably be going back and fixing some things. Until then, just, er... ignore the strange (awesome) formatting change here.

Edit: Shoot, I just realized that this is actually just a reposting of a previous chapter after being revised, and I just typed up a part of the story that was already posted. So no new content yet, sorry, but hopefully soon! At least the story looks a bit fancier now. Sorry about the mix-up.

OnCE UpoN a TIMe

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**T**_w_i_s**t**_**e**d **W_a_**_y_**s**

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"... Ed?"

A boy stood in the doorframe. He was tall, tall with blonde hair. There was something about that, something that bugged me. What, what? What was it?

A shorter boy stood behind him, looking on with wide eyes. _Brothers_, I knew, and a thrill shot through me, titillation and trepedation both zinging at my nerves.

A suit of armor. _Again_. No, that wasn't important now. There were people here. People who could explain, know what to do.

"Ed? Is that you?" The tall boy's eyes flickered to Wrath, then back at me.

At me? But Wrath had called me Pride. Two names? Why?

I didn't understand.

-_**W**_r_a**t**_**h**_-_

_intruders. _My fury was palpable. _intruders, intruders, here now. who are they?_

"Who?" I snarled. "Who are you?"

The younger boy hid behind the older, as if he would _protect _him. From _me_, the poor dangerous cripple. A little boy missing an arm and leg. o_h yes, how dangerous._ I sneered at them. Humans_._

But they weren't Gluttony, and I allowed myself relief from the heart-clenching terror that had held me in its grasp. My fury, I knew, was inspired by my fear. I hated feeling weak. I hated this... _dependency. _But I had also known, as soon as I had seen them, that they were our chance to survive.

Two of them, for two cripples, each without an arm and a leg. How fitting.

I glanced at Pride. Had they known him, before he died? Good, that would be an advantage. They wouldn't want to leave a friend behind, even if he's now a homunculus. But they didn't need to know about _that. _

"I'm Russel," the tall blondie said, warily. "And this is Fletcher. My brother." The younger boy peeked from behind the lean stature of his sibling. "What happened to Ed?"

The boy's words were curt and to the point. Somehow, that infuriated me. The feral grin that had been creeping up my face died, and a petulant dislike rose within me. _ed, ed, ed. ed is dead, fool. why don't you ask about _me_? poor, poor bleeding cripple that I am?_

I said none of this.

"He... got into a fight." I chose my words carefully, savoring them as I drew them out long and stringy, like rat meat. Then, realizing the urgency of the situation once more, I narrowed my eyes and made the words come quick, a pouncing predator. "We need to leave. Now. Help us out."

I wanted to choke the boy for his slow response. His considering eyes, that took far too much time to think and not enough to act.

"_Now_!" I yelled. I wish I could have climbed to my feet to at least stand up to meet him, but as it was, the tall man towered above me.

At last, he nodded, and walked to Pride. I seethed, seethed as he deemed me less important than this _newborn babe_, but I hid it well. His brother, Fletcher, at least was still watching me.

_smart._

"Help me up," I growled, and the little human scurried to me, strangely eager to help.

-**Pride**-

It was the name again. The title given to me by the tall boy. Russell.

"Ed?" The boy said. "I'm going to pick you up now. Can you move at all?"

I didn't respond. I couldn't, and the question hadn't mattered anyway. Soon hands were lifting me up, a grunt of surprise at finding such a heavy weight in such a small body.

Small body.

That meant something to me, didn't it?

My mind was confused. Scrambled. I couldn't think. Everything was a distortion of lines, numbers, various quantities, _energy –_

The world descended into fog.


End file.
